Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Ups and Downs of Having a Meal Plan

Today was actually pretty productive. On Tuesday and Thursdays I have class from 10 to 11 and then have a 7 hour break until my class from 6 to 8. Usually, this means that I lounge around and do nothing for several hours and then at 8:00 panic and realize how much work I have.

Not today! I managed to get in nap (counts as productive), got my Russian homework done, finished almost all my readings, and worked out with Ali.
Sadly all the treadmills in the gym were taken (which is a tad ridiculous since there are a billion), so I just spent 30 minutes on the elliptical. It wasn't too bad because I ended up watching the end of the movie Avatar while working out. Embarrassing story: I cry at almost any movie I watch. I had to work hard to hold back the teary feeling because I was in the middle of a public gym. I do not want to be the girl crying while working out again haha.
Afterwards I headed back to the house, and decided to continue my workout by running a little bit on the treadmill. I ran a mile in 9:40 (yay!) and then decided to walk for another quarter mile to cool down. I finally decided just to spend the next 7 minutes walking on a slight incline with 5 pound weights so I could complete a full 20 minutes on the treadmill.

I also attempted to take pictures of my meals today because its been awhile since I last busted out my camera. Although the food we are served is usually really delicious, I'm really missing my kitchen back home.
Today I had my usual breakfast of scrambled egg whites, a piece of turkey bacon, and oatmeal. I've even gotten used to eating unsweetened oatmeal! The trick is I put a billion things in it like chocolate chips, brown sugar, raisains, and fruit.
For lunch, we are usually given a meal or two and then left to assemble it how we want (for example everything you need to make a wrap). Today was Greek themed, so we had all the items to make a pita pocket!
While I originally went for tofu with Tatiki, I made another one using one my falafels and hummus and it was thousand times better. Lunch at the house is almost always a winner:)

It was good lunch was so delicious because dinner was not. I was not a fan of the porkchops and potatoes, but I didn't have time to be picky (lame night classes) so I didn't try to get creative with alternatives.

When I got back from class, the cereal was calling my name and made up for the lame dinner.
I could eat literally over 3 bowls of cereal in a heartbeat, so I've learned ways to stay satisfied on one: mix a bunch of different cereals together. When I mix granola, Captain Crunch (not healthy haha), and Shredded Spoonfuls, I'm always convinced I can't replicate it and am even happier with the bowl. Win win!

Off to bed! I've realized I really need to get to bed earlier when I have morning classes so that I won't depend on my "productive naps" so much.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Hollywood Hike

I promise I'm actually alive and well. I've just been super busy with homework, reading, and quizzes. As of right now, I'm avoiding memorizing the names of historians who study Homer. Fun, fun!
I don't like work. Or the fact that this is an old picture.


There have also been a few football games tossed in there,

a couple nights out with friends,
and most importantly, finally getting a visit to see Scott!

Now, I'm newly motivated to start up my blogging again (I forgot that people don't like hearing me talk about how my workouts or how I'm trying to be healthier that much, and I've missed writing about it). I will spare you my two weeks worth of workouts, but I am planning on making a workouts tab to better record it.

Today, I had a really fun hike to the Hollywood sign. I've hiked to the sign a few year ago with my family, but have not had a chance to do it again since. Sadly, I think we took a few wrong turns that didn't take us right above it, but we did have a great view of the sign and of downtown.

It was really great weather and a lot fun to get outside. It's funny how different hiking is in a city than it is in the mountains, but I really appreciated the change of scenery. I've left campus once since I've been here! Plus I think a morning hike was the reason I was so productive up until now today. I kicked some serious homework and cleaning butt afterwards.

Sadly, I have an 8:30 class tomorrow (how is 1:00 am already?!) so I'm off to bed. I'm so happy to be back!